Wow, months fly by, but so do decades.

Today, I just finished putting a new back on this pillow. I knew it was a few years old, but I couldn't remember exactly how many. So, I came and checked this blog - my virtual memory - and there it was. The original post was dated October 5, 2015.

So a decade ago, I created the pillow front for my daughter, as she hosted her first Thanksgiving dinner. And for 10 years, it has been saying "thanks" to friends who come to visit them, surviving the attention of Jasper the cat and their two kids, Jackson and Everleigh. On my last visit, I saw that the fabric on the back of the pillow was pulling away from the seams. I was more than happy to bring it home and to give it a new back, which will hopefully last for another decade.

Speaking of pillows, I just finished putting together a new one for my house. This one has a Tom Thomson pattern on the front, designed by Carol Shewan of Willow Creek Rug Hooking  I am a huge Group of Seven fan, and think Thomson may be my favourite. This pattern is called "West Wind". I have another one called "Jack Pine" that is waiting in the hooking queue. These are two of his best-known paintings.

Here it is in its new home - on a custom wool blanket created by my good friend Jen Manuell the maker extraordinaire at Fish Eye Sisters  If you do not know her work, please treat yourself to a visit.

All of this just in time for the cooler temps that are on their way. We will be snuggly warm under this wonderful blanket, that's for sure. 

Here's to a happy decade ahead for both of these creations.

Wow!!! I can't believe it has been this long!

During these last COVID months, we have all been living in what I call "elastic time". That's time where minutes can last forever, but months race by without notice. 

Parts of my life have become monitors. I walk every morning for an hour. And I have established a "walk of the day" calendar, so I am always mixing it up. Except for "grocery day", when I have to be at the store my 8 to take advantage of "seniors' hour". So that day, I don't usually walk - or didn't when the temps were 30+. May start to walk later as the weather turns cooler. 

Most other parts of my life are repeats of the simple things. It's kind of COVID Groundhog Day. Most days I hook and knit. And I usually devote some time to my ongoing mask making. (Truth be told, now that every single manufacturer has joined the mask parade, it is discouraging for those of us who are making masks by hand to see that you can buy 5 masks for $15.00 from many retailers.) That said, I am still making for the hospital, because I believe that many people who end up there don't necessarily have time to plan on bringing a mask with them. 

So I continue to make them every week. I took a bit of time off this summer when the kids and grandkids were here for a couple of weeks. And then when we rented a cottage on Lake of Bays for a week - the only cold and rainy week of the summer. Murphy's Law.

So, what do I have to share with you?

On the hooking front, I continue to add to my WIP or UFO pile (for those of you who don't know, that is Work in Progress and Un Finished Objects. I am embarrassed to be honest about how many things I have waiting to be finished. But I don't apologize for moving on to the next adventure.

My "kilt it" project is languishing, and could be done in a couple of sittings.  It is made entirely from up-cycled kilts, except for the background. It has one kilt, but I added some additional fabric so there would be enough. 

Our grand cat, Jasper, died in July. It was very sudden and very upsetting for everyone. I decided to hook a likeness of Jasper that can be the "guardian Angel-cat" in their home. I mounted him on foam core board, so they can put him in all his favourite spots. 

The quilts for the twin beds are finished and on the beds. I LOVE them, even more than I thought I would.  I still have to make matching pillow shams. Complete with rainbow coloured pom pom trim. Impossible to believe I still have 300+ squares left over. 

I made a second "mosaic stitch" baby stroller blanket for a special new person. Complete with matching hat. 

Also off the needles was a "leftover" sweater for me. A fun stranded knit that goes perfectly with a pair of pants I made a few years ago. For you Ravelry folks, the pattern is called Soldotna. 

Mask making continues. This is a batch in progress that I made for our grand son, out of two bandanas. Blue outsides and red lining, so they are reversible.  They are sooo soft and I figured if I made him a Monday-Friday supply that all looked the same, he might not lose them all. 

Back to hooking. I am working on a couple of Tom Thomson patterns, designed by Carol Shewan at Willow Creek Rug Hooking. They will be made into pillows for our bedroom. Two of his most famous works - West Wind and Jack Pine. Carol did a Zoom class for these patterns. She was awesome. 

Progress is a bit slow, as I am constantly interrupted by other things. But I did sign up for the "10 minutes a day challenge" with Deanne Fitzpatrick, and days where I don't get there are made up by days when I do hours and hours. 

Here is one of the interruptions. This little 8" x 8" mat is called "CLOSE YOUR EYES AND LEAP".

It is based on a workshop that I would have offered at the 2021 Annual: Daredevils and Thrill Seekers.

Listening to a piece of music, you draw on backing with a sharpie marker  WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED.  Then you put several handfuls of worms into a bucket or bowl and mix them all together. Again, WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED, you pull out one worm at a time and put it somewhere in the design you made. 

Full details will be available in the OHCG Winter Newsletter, but here's a sneak peak. Top image is the sketch - my music was "Defying Gravity" from Wicked. Middle image is the bucket of worms. And bottom image is the finished piece.  

It was lots of fun and quick little project. Very brave to just "hook" without knowing what you are going to hook next. 

So, that's what I've been doing instead of posting here. I promise to try to not be absent for so long again.